Tribal leaders in Hunsur have taken strong exception to the prolonged delay by the State government in recognising forest rights of the Adivasi communities and questioned the failure to rehabilitate the forest-dwellers despite an order from the High Court of Karnataka.
In a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday, the tribal leaders drew attention to the sufferings of thousands of families displaced from the forests and who continue to suffer.
The letter dated November 19, 2025, pointed out that Mr. Siddaramaiah, during his first tenure as the Chief Minister, had promised to recognise and implement the demands of the tribal communities way back in 2013. He is now the Chief Minister again and despite repeated reminders in his second tenure, Mr. Siddaramaiah has continued to ignore the genuine demands of the tribals, the letter stated.
The crux of the issue revolves around rehabilitation of 3,418 Adivasi families which were identified by the Muzaffar Assadi Committee which was constituted as per a High Court directive.
The leaders pointed out that though a decade has passed since the committee submitted its report, and despite appeals made to the Chief Minister during both his terms — most recently during his visit to H.D. Kote on November 12, 2024, — the government has neither implemented the court order nor granted forest rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
